Festival of New American Musicals in Southern CA

The Festival of New American Musicals, a two-month musical theatre festival, will be held in May and June, 2008, throughout Southern California. Marcia Seligson and Bob Klein are the Executive Producers of the Festival.

Seligson and Klein are working closely with two primary creative advisors, celebrated Broadway composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz, composer-lyricist of Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell, and Michael Kerker, Director of Musical Theatre of ASCAP, the major organization which represents American theater composers.

The honorary chairs of the Festival are Schwartz, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Jason Alexander and Angela Lansbury.

The Festival will be home to full productions, staged readings, workshops of musicals in progress, cabaret events, concerts, master classes and other events.  The producers are working in partnership with more than twenty Southern California area performing arts organizations, each of which will produce a new American musical during the Festival time period.

Rubicon Theatre in Ventura, South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, Musical Theatre Guild, Celebration Theatre, Ford Amphitheatre, Los Angeles Master Chorale, and the Wilshire Theatre and many colleges and high schools have Festival events secured at this time with discussions continuing with other cultural institutions.

The Festival organization will supply an umbrella marketing campaign. Irwin Kornfeld at Westchester Media is in charge of sponsorships; the Festival is supported in part by the County of Los Angeles.  The Festival's website is now online at www.lafestival.org.

The Festival of New American Musicals is presented by BNY Mellon Bank, the ASCAP Foundation, KUSC, the Jewish Community Foundation, Greenberg & Glusker, Joseph Drown Foundation, the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation, with support from The City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, The Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Events of the Festival include (in date order - updated 3/11/08):

o       Pre-Festival Event -- Dancing in the Dark, music by Arthur Schwartz. Lyrics by Howard Dietz. Playwright Douglas Carter Beane (Broadway's Xanadu) and Director Gary Griffin (Broadway's The Color Purple) are bringing this musical extravaganza to the Globe stage and then to Broadway.  Old Globe Theatre Pre-Festival event March 4 to April 13. Tickets for Dancing in the Dark are on sale at www.theoldglobe.org, or by phone at 619-23-GLOBE (234-5623).  General information is available online by visiting www.theoldglobe.org.

o       Brain from Planet X, with music and lyrics by Bruce Kimmel; book by David Wechter and Bruce Kimmel.  It will perform at the Chance Theatre in Anaheim, weekends May 3 to June 15. Tickets for Brain from Planet X are on sale at www.chancetheatre.com, by phone at 714-777-3033, or in person at The Chance Theatre (2 hours before curtain on days of performance), 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills. General information is available online by visiting www.chancetheatre.com.

o       My Antonia, adapted from the Willa Cather novel, and directed by Scott Schwartz with musical underscoring by Stephen Schwartz.  It will be performed at the Rubicon Theatre May 8 to June 1. Tickets for My Antonia are on sale at www.brownpapertickets.com, by phone at 805-667-2900, or in person at the Rubicon Theatre Box Office, 1006 E. Main Street, Ventura (Monday-Friday: 10am-5pm, Saturday: 11am-5pm, Sunday: 11am-1pm). General information is available online by visiting www.rubicontheatre.org.

o       The Grapes of Wrath, the West Coast premiere of a suite of music from the new musical drama by Ricky Ian Gordon with book by Michael Korie, based on the classic John Steinbeck novel, will be performed in concert by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, conducted by its musical director Grant Gershon.  Walt Disney Concert Hall on May 18, 2008. Tickets for The Grapes of Wrath are on sale at http://lamc.org, by phone at 213-972-7282 or 800-787-5262 in California (10 am-5 pm, Mon-Fri), or in person at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Box Office, 111 South Grand Avenue, at First Street in downtown Los Angeles (Noon-6 pm, Tue-Sun). General information is available online by visiting http://lamc.org.

o       Norman's Ark by composer Glen Roven and writer Jerome Kass is based on "Noah's Ark."  200 young community student performers as the animals and; the high school gymnastic athletes as 'the storm.'  Ford Theatre May 27 to June 8.

o       Love, Janis, musical direction and arrangements by Sam Andrew. Tickets for "Love, Janis" are on sale at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 323-655-0111, or in person at the Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills Box Office, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills (Tuesday-Friday 12pm-6pm, Saturday 10am-4pm). General information is available online by visiting www.wtbh.com.

o       Songs from an Unmade Bed, lyrics by Mark Campbell.  Celebration Theatre.  Previews June 4, opens June 6 through June 13. Tickets for "Songs from an Unmade Bed" are on sale at http://celebrationtheatre.tix.com/, by phone at 323-957-1884, or in person 30 minutes prior to the show at the Celebration Theatre Box Office, 7051 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles.  General information is available online by visiting www.celebrationtheatre.com.

o       Sing Me A Happy Song, a two act musical review by Georgia Stitt and David Kirshenbaum.  Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center June 14.

o       It's Only Life, music and Lyrics by John Bucchino; directed by Daisy Prince. Rubicon Theatre June 19 to July 30. Tickets for "It's Only Life" are on sale at www.brownpapertickets.com, by phone at 805-667-2900, or in person at the Rubicon Theatre Box Office, 1006 E. Main Street, Ventura (Monday-Friday: 10am-5pm, Saturday: 11am-5pm, Sunday: 11am-1pm). General information is available online by visiting www.rubicontheatre.org.

o       The Fix, book & Lyrics by John Dempsey; Music by Dana P. Rowe.  Musical Theatre Guild at the Alex Theatre. June 23, 2008. Tickets for The Fix are on sale at www.alextheatre.org, by phone at 818-243-ALEX (2539), or in person at The Alex Theatre Box Office (open daily from 12:00 Noon until 6:00 p.m. and on performance days until one-half hour after the scheduled start time of the event), 16 North Brand Boulevard, Glendale. General information is available online by visiting www.alextheatre.org.

Workshops and readings will also take place during the Festival.

Seligson, Klein and members of their Advisory Board reviewed over 60 new American musicals for inclusion in the festival.  They are bringing these to discussion for potential productions with the area's performing arts companies.

Seligson and Klein have assembled the following Advisory Board:

Karyl Lynn Burns, Artistic Director, Rubicon Theatre
Ted Chapin, Executive Director, Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization
Darcie Denkert, President, MGM Live
Bonnie Eskenazi, Attorney, Greenberg Glusker
Bronya Galef, Founder, The Galef Institute
Grant Gershon, Music Director, The Los Angeles Master Chorale
Philip Himberg, Producing Artistic Director, Sundance Institute Theatre Program
Michael Kerker, Director of Musical Theatre, ASCAP
David Lee, TV/Theatre Writer/Director
Judith Light, Actor/Community Activist
Steven Linder, Manager, Senior Vice President and Director of the North and South
American Attractions Division of IMG Artists.
Terence McFarland, Executive Director, LA Stage Alliance
Ginny Mancini, Former President, Henry Mancini Institute
Madelyn Puzo, Dean, USC School of Theater
Michael Ritchie, Artistic Director, Center Theatre Group
Claire Rothman, Board of Directors, Reprise!
Richard Salfas, Director of Licensing, Music Theatre International
David Sefton, Director, UCLA Live!
David Zippel, Lyricist/Director 

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